Computing systems often must be able to move data between heterogeneous platforms (e.g., differing CPU architectures, differing processor or machine languages) over various transport media (e.g., shared memory, disk drive, Internet Protocol (IP) networks). The typical approach to covert data to a machine-portable format or to devise custom software to convert the data to the target-platform format. Converting data into a machine-portable format (e.g., ASCII text or XML) or target-platform format ensures it can be read by the destination computing platform but entails using resources to convert the native platform-specific layout into the portable form and can result in less efficient format s that require additional transport resources.